According to law firm Webber Wentzel, policy statements in National Treasury’s 2020 Budget Review published on 26 February indicate a clear and welcome intention from government to significantly relax these controls. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) currently administers restrictive export controls in respect of SA-owned IP.

Webber Wentzel says these controls, which require South African residents to get approval for transfers and licences of IP to non-residents, have hindered and discouraged cross-border transactions involving South African IP. This, in turn, has restricted the ability of South African residents to maximise the potential of their intellectual creations, it notes.

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